Marooned in Austin

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T22:51:00.004-06:00

Thanks to Melanie for this idea. Here is a digital version of my Christmas card for 2008. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year too.

Beautiful Austin

2008-11-19T23:28:00.013-06:00

I know - I owe you a trip report and some pictures from my week of visiting Las Vegas, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam and The Grand Canyon. I've whittled down my 1400+ pictures to something more manageable - 840 or so. I. Am. Not. Kidding.

The last few weeks in Austin have been so gorgeous - I'm convinced that if you visit anytime in October through January then you never want to leave. This Sunday after church I decided to forsake the chores and DVR and traditional nap for some exploring and time with my camera.

(Those of you who know me will say, "Which camera?" The Nikon D60 that I HAD TO HAVE when two friends at church turned me on to the series. Yes I know, I should go to a support group. "Hello, my name is Joyce and I'm addicted to new technology...")

I took some shots at Mount Bonnell and Lake Travis near my house.

The view of the Pennybacker (360 Bridge) from Mount Bonnell.

Part of the church across from my neighborhood that has a great view of Lake Travis.

Their view of Lake Travis.

Remembering

2008-09-11T16:54:00.012-05:00

Today is an anniversary that we MUST take time to remember.

My mom and I have traveled to New York City together twice. We made a trip with friends in April of 2001 to celebrate my 30th birthday. We also celebrated Mom's 76th birthday with a trip in July of 2004.

We visited Ground Zero on our trip in 2004 - below are some of the pictures I took that day. (I wish I had digital pictures from the trip in 2001 - it would make these pictures all the more poignant.)

The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center stood within the fence that you
can see in front of the line of traffic.

Three years later there is quite a bit of work left to do.
The building with the banner is 7 World Trade Center.

I like this picture because of the cross and the flag. The site is just beyond the railing.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe rescue and recovery workers found this cross made of beams just as you see it here. I took this picture through a chain link fence and I like the added effect.

My new roommate

2008-09-10T22:37:00.009-05:00

I have a new friend living with me at the moment. I think he's cute. I've decide he can stay... as long as he understands he can't infringe on my space. Currently he lives in the garage. I believe he used to live near the front porch in these weird plants that used to be there before Dad and I dug them out. Not sure where he's been since we did that a year or two ago. (And I can't find my original pictures from the plant area to see how he's grown!)

Close up shot of little Leonard the Lizzard.*

Here's some perspective - he's not that big.*

* For those of you curious, these were taken with the closest available camera - which was not the new Nikon. I have many Nikon pictures to post. Stay tuned.

Called Out

2008-08-22T14:22:00.016-05:00

Several days ago a great friend got back in touch with me and she called me out on my serious lack of blogging. I wasn't going to include the text of her message here, but I think you'd enjoy it. And maybe she will too. I'm not naming names. Just responding.

"Really blogging once a year seems a little goofy for someone who travels as much as you! You thought I wasn't paying attention!"

I'm pretty sure that I haven't been on a trip since last June or July when I went to Chicago. I'm not counting the numerous trips to San Antonio since last August when I started helping my uncle. I should have taken some pictures of San Antonio, but all I have are pictures from his old (interesting and dusty) apartment and a few from his new place. I can't think that you would be interested in those, but I'll include a couple because I ALWAYS have pictures in my posts. His new place is rearranged a bit now and there is a nice bed spread too. (Please note that if cell phone cameras were any good at all, I'd have some VERY interesting things to show you from the cabinet cleaning in the kitchen.)

Desk area before... (the key here was to reproduce it exactly at the new place. I took about 8 pictures of the stuff on top and then used them for reference.)

The sitting area before.

The new place.

Another view of the new place. This part is rearranged now and there are two new recliners instead of the small couch and green chair (which broke).

Now if you are still reading this - I have great news. I'm going to Las Vegas next week. Woo hoo! A friend is giving me a pretty good hook up - I'll tell you about it when I get back. That is if Gustav will allow - I'm flying Continental through Houston Tuesday morning. Yikes.

Things that make me happy

2008-08-18T17:57:00.018-05:00

1. Lyle Lovett in concert - if you're paying attention then you already know this about me. I recently saw him at the new venue in Austin - The Long Center. What a nice venue! Great location, great views from the courtyard and outdoor balconies, easy parking and super acoustics. Pictures are below. Should I mention that I also have a crush on the cello player, John Hagen, and the acoustic guitar player, Keith Sewell (who also plays mandolin and sings).

From the terrace at The Long Center

Ray Herndon, SweetPea Atkinson, Sir Harry Bowens (hidden),
Lyle, Willie Green, Jr., and Arnold McCuller

Ray Herndon on electric guitar, Willie Green, Jr., Sir Harry Bowens,
SweetPea Atkinson, and Arnold McCuller

Lyle Lovett and John Hagen

Lyle Lovett

Viktor Krauss on stand-up bass, Keith Sewell on acoustic guitar,
Lyle, Gene Elders on violin (hidden), and Sam Bush on mandolin

2. Blue Bell's Southern Blackberry Cobbler Ice Cream - it might be too late for me to tell you about this because Blue Bell's website says it's a "rotational flavor" which they make available for three months. Thank goodness, because I can't walk by a half gallon without buying it and eating it. Look for it - purple in color with a brown rim. Yum!

** I might love the ice cream more than Lyle and his band, but it seemed wrong to put food first. **

On the Blog Again

2008-06-04T18:22:00.006-05:00

Is anyone still checking my blog? I know that I have been a slacker. A huge slacker. It's really sad. Along the way I've thought of things about which I should blog. Now, of course, I have no idea what those thoughts were.

Because I have been AWOL - the only people who might see this are those that use a blog reader like Google Reader.

And for those people - I present the view from my office window... Where you can see my pet deer, her fawn, a squirrel and a cute little bird.

My pet doe from afar.

Here she is up close.

The fawn was down in the creek bed.

My squirrel neighbor - one of many.

A cute little bird - not a woodpecker though.

Chicago in summer

2007-12-19T00:34:00.000-06:00

I learned something interesting on my trip to Chicago - it's HOT there in June. Seriously HOT; even hotter than it was in Austin at that time. It probably would have been better if I had planned my wardrobe a bit better! I did enjoy the trip and I would love to go back. My favorite parts were the water taxi tours of the river and Lake Michigan.

The John Hancock Center.

This is Cloud Gate, a 110-ton elliptical sculpture found in Millennium Park.

Cloud Gate is big enough to provide me shelter in a rain shower. (Hence the grey sky.)

One can tour Lake Michigan on a sail boat. Sadly, the departure time didn't work for me.

A view of Navy Pier from the ferris wheel.

If you're still with me, you might also like to check out a place called ENO. It's in the InterContinental Chicago hotel. The sign reads "wine. cheese. chocolate. sensation." It's true.

Shake, Shake, Shake

2007-10-27T13:45:00.000-05:00

Last week I did something I don't recall ever doing. I had three milkshakes. Yes, three. I didn't have three in one day, I promise. I had one on Monday, I think, then one on Thursday, and one on Friday.

Only two of them were remarkable. There is a hamburger joint near my office called Wally's. It's a family owned place. In fact I think my next door neighbor's father owns it. He promised me one time he'd get me some coupons, but nothing! Anyway, I had a burger there once and it was nothing spectacular. But Monday night I just wanted a shake, so I went through drive through and low and behold I saw the choices! Butterscotch? Cherry? Vanilla? Chocolate? Sounds super. I chose a small butterscotch shake. OH MY GOODNESS! It was great! So great! Gone in about ten minutes, maybe five. I thought of it all week and had another one on Friday. And that was after I had a boring chocolate shake from Whataburger in a fit of madness on the way back from San Antonio Thursday night.

Just so you know, I have passed Wally's several times a day since then and have not succumbed to temptation. This week I am shake free. But I have had Halloween candy.

Tomorrow I'll do better. I promise.

Concerts 4

2007-10-23T17:31:00.000-05:00

I will get in trouble with my friend Teresa if I don't mention that she and I saw Jack Ingram at the River Road Ice House in New Braunfels, Texas, earlier this summer.

It was fun but rather warm and very crowded! As you can see Jack closes his eyes a lot when he sings and sweats just the like you and me.

BTW that means I saw Jack Ingram and Lyle Lovett twice each this year. Funny!

Jack Ingram at the River Road Ice House in New Braunfels, TX.

Jack up close.

I just think this is funny, he turned just as I snapped the pic. Very nice layers, Jack.

I know this looks funny - some fan held up her beer while yelling wildly...
so he's either singing into her beer or about to take a swig, right?

Concerts 3

2007-10-23T11:34:00.001-05:00

And now for the pictures of Keith Urban and The Wreckers. It's not hard to narrow it down to just a few of Keith in this case because many were dark and or blurry. The Wreckers pictures all turned out very dark, so you'll get just one.

Keith did a really great show and I'd recommend him to anyone. You know more music of his than you think! I'll go next time he's in Austin if you anyone wants to go.

The Wreckers - Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp.
(I'm pretty sure that Michelle is on the left.)

Thank goodness for the big screen!

I couldn't decide on this one or the one above. So, both.

They did this weird thing that made it seem like a fun iPod commercial version of the song.

My only clear "close up" shot.

I love that you can see him playing on stage and his facial expression on the big screen.
(I also like the effect of the spotlights.)

Concerts 2

2007-10-22T17:58:00.000-05:00

I promised pictures from the other two concerts that I attended over the summer. The first was The Wreckers opening for Keith Urban and the other was Little Big Town opening for Martina McBride. Keep in mind that I'm taking care of you by posting only a few of the hundreds and hundreds of pictures that I took. For whatever reason, I only took my small digital camera to these two events... So no 10x zoom! You'll easily be able to tell at which concert I had 3rd row seats and at which I did not!

I think I'll limit this entry to LBT and Martina.

As a bonus, I saw Taylor Kitsch who stars as Tim Riggins in the NBC TV show Friday Night Lights. Scroll to the bottom for that picture.

Martina pictures must be first.

As you can see I couldn't decide which photos to include.

So I picked four.

Yes, that's right, I picked four out of about one hundred.

Jimi Westbrook and Phillip Sweet of Little Big Town.

Kimberly Roads and Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town.

Little Big Town, all together but a bit blurry.

We happened to be sitting on the best side of the stage, in my opinion!

Actor Taylor Kitsch (in white) enjoying LBT and Martina.

Concerts 1

2007-10-21T23:16:00.001-05:00

I know - I've been away. I've not been blogging. I have good reasons. Up until a few weeks ago I was busy with not so fun things. The last week or so I've had a time for a bit run and relaxation.

I generally see a concert or two a year, maybe. Well apparently I've stepped into new territory this year. I've been to see at least 3 concerts and one music festival. I decided you'd like to see my pictures. In fact I have hundreds of pictures from all the concerts. It's lucky for you that one or two of them turned out to be in focus and centered. I'll go in reverse order and split this up into two posts. Also it should be noted that my 10x optical zoom camera (a Canon S1 IS) died during the festival, so a few pics are with my 3x optical zoom camera (a Canon SD650). For those interested, Canon is fixing the problem for free because it turns out it's a known issue with the CCD imager. Yea!

These pics are from the most recent events - the music festival and the Lyle Lovett concert.

Lyle Lovett at Stubbs in Austin, TX.

Lyle Lovett with John Hagan on cello, what a team.

Los Lonely Boys at the Big State Festival in College Station, TX.

Dierks Bentley at the Big State Festival.

Another of Dierks Bentley at the Big State Festival.

Craig Morgan at the Big State Festival.
(He's great but always makes funny faces.)

Jack Ingram at the Big State Festival.

Kelly Willis watching husband Bruce Robison sing (only 3x zoom).
(We saw Kelly sing too but I did not get a picture.)

Charlie and Bruce Robison at the Big State Festival (only 3x zoom).

Willie Nelson at the Big State Festival (only 3x zoom).

Tim McGraw closing out the Big State Festival (only 3x zoom).

No Mail

2007-08-01T23:17:00.001-05:00

I know what you are thinking. I do.

You're thinking, "Does she mean mail or male?" Clearly both versions of the word apply, especially with the word "no" preceeding them. But I've chosen to discuss the USPS version today. Mail.

Our post office isn't so great. Everyone knows it. Still, most times I get my mail in a relatively timely manner. (I know there is some delay based on surveys and information I get from Netflix.) Thank goodness I have BillPay with my bank, otherwise I would be more nervous.

Yesterday I stopped at the little community mailbox in my neighborhood. I open my box, number 03/14 in a large bank of boxes. I had mail... yay! Upon inspection I discover it is a bundle of mail for my neighbor down the street. Not one of the pieces is for me. Not one! No Netflix movie that I had expected. No bills, no checks, no credit card applications. I delivered my neighbors mail and kindly asked if they night have mine. Apparently they did not as I have not heard from them.

I called the local post office (I refuse to capitalize those words) today to discuss the problem. I spoke to a supervisor who claimed he would check into it now that the regular carrier was back from vacation. Apparently he often gets complaints when the regular carrier is out. (Must be when I see the kids in shorts and t-shirts out there putting the mail in the boxes.) So today I expected to receive two days worth of mail. No such luck, I got the regular Wednesday grocery store flyers and one credit card application (in my name). This means that whoever got my mail either dumped it or hasn't checked their box yet... If they have checked then they haven't put my mail into the proper box... the one that is for mis-delivered mail. Hmm, happens enough that there is a system. ARGH!

And that's not all.

It just so happens that the internet ate at least two email messages of mine yesterday. I spoke to a friend today who said she did replied to my message yesterday and so had another of our friends. I did not get these replies. I checked junk mail, I checked my folders that use rules to sort incoming mail, I checked deleted items and I checked sent items. NOTHING. I even went online to my providers webmail site. Nothing.

I couldn't be more frustrated with mail, or the lack of it.

The same could be said for the other spelling of the word, but that is for another post.

An ode to cooler days at my house.
It's August 1st, the beginning of our other season in Texas.
We just finished with summer and now it's AUGUST.

The Astros

2007-06-26T21:24:00.000-05:00

I am a huge Astros fan! Ask anyone I know. I'm no fair weather fan.... I watch when they win and when they lose. They're losing a lot lately. Tonight they gave up 9 runs in one inning. Doh!

The most interesting thing going on with the Astros is Craig Biggio's race to 3000 career hits. He's only 3 hits away now. His career stats are pretty impressive.

My dad recently bought some very nice seats at a charity silent auction. We were three rows behind home plate at the game on June 2, against the Cardinals. Great, great fun. I'll highlight Mr. Biggio with my pictures below.

Things I've learned from Dove dark chocolates

2007-03-31T01:30:00.000-05:00

Chocolate is educational. Really. Inside the wrappers of Dove chocolates are "messages." I'm not sure how many messages there are in a bag, but I'll take an informal count at the end. You must know that I've been building on this post for a while... Really. I promise.

There's no excuse not to dream.
Count the stars.
Be mischievous. It feels good.
Do what feels right.
Flirting is mandatory.
Age is nothing but a number.
Decorate your life.
Sing along with the elevator music.

Stink

2007-03-30T22:49:00.000-05:00

No, the title does not refer to the problem with the rodent.

I had almost finished a whole post when my computer, router, and modem combination freaked out. So I rebooted... The post was gone as I had not saved it yet. Nice!

I've messed with my blogger template. What do you think? Is it too wide for your browser? Do you see two columns under the header? How do you like the picture in the header? Yes I took it myself (see old post) and then cropped it.

The airplane picture reminds me of the trip to Washington State. I wonder when I can return.

and on a sunny day.

Las Vegas 2

2007-03-29T00:13:00.000-05:00

I was thinking that the next time I go to Las Vegas I might just take pictures of the people. One of my favorite things to do is "people watch." Seriously, Las Vegas does NOT disappoint. So. Much. Craziness.

I love chocolate. I heard that there was a huge chocolate fountain in the Bellagio. Clearly I had to check it out. It turns out it's the "world's tallest and largest volume chocolate fountain." And it's BEHIND GLASS. Remember that old Mervyn's sale commercial with the woman standing at the glass door chanting, "Open! Open! Open! Open!"? I thought about doing that but thought better of it. But just barely.

The fountain...

The details of the fountain. Click on it if you feel the need to read it!

We decided to head down the strip to the M&M Store. Need I say more about this? I love M&M's, but managed not to buy anything but a couple of decks of playing cards. Who knew M&M's had a smell. They do, or the store did at least. Too much of a good thing, I think.

Who doesn't love a whole store based on candy?

This is about 1/3 the wall of M&Ms. Yum.

Las Vegas 1

2007-03-26T23:55:00.000-05:00

The Bellagio.

Have you been to Las Vegas? I had never been, but was able to tag along with friends in February. By tag along I mean that I didn't have to plan any of the trip. My friend Bonnie had most things already planned for herself and her two granddaughters. When she heard I hadn't been, she said I should come along and she also invited her two daughters (my friends from growing up and mothers to the aforementioned granddaughters). Bonnie did most of the planning. She reserved another room at the Bellagio and added tickets to each of the shows. Because of Bonnie's hard work we had great seats to three shows: Blue Man Group, "O" (Cirque du Soliel), and Celine Dion.

Me and a Blue Man.
This might be my Christmas card this year - act surprised!

You should stay at the Bellagio once in your life. Get the lake view room, it's worth it to see the fountains. If I ever figure out how to do it, I'll post a video of the fountain/light show.

From the room.

From the street.

Nephews

2007-03-23T04:06:00.001-05:00

My good friends have a new baby, just 6 weeks old. He is very sweet and cute and handsome. His mom and I have lunch sometimes, but usually he is out for the count (see below). Last week we had another of our friends in town and we all went to lunch . To be fair, there is a picture of the boy with each of us "aunts" holding him.**

Lunch out with the girls...

He woke up!

I had some good friends come for a visit this last weekend. They brought their precious daughter, her cousin and this little guy below. Frosty is a teacup maltese puppy and is already half grown at 1.5 pounds. He is very good natured and calm. I almost want one!

Frosty on his first trip to my house.

For your reference, I did write this last night but somehow I never posted it. Good one.

**Yes, I did ask permission to post pictures of him. He has his own blog, linked at the right.

Have you ever...? (Part 2)

2007-03-21T20:43:00.000-05:00

Read Part 1.

Have you ever had an unwanted house guest? I have!
(This does NOT refer to all the friends who visit and whom I love to host!)

Truth be told, I had noticed some signs.

About three weeks ago a warning light came on in my Acura. I read the manual and determined the light was related to the fuel line/emissions. It suggested re-seating the gas cap. I had run into this before with my Honda and the gas cap trick always worked. Not this time! So I called Effrim, my handy dealer service guy. I took it in on a Friday afternoon and got a sweet loaner vehicle, a 2007 Acura MDX. The shop was busy, so it was Monday morning when I got the call about the cause of the light... The conversation started with Effrim asking if I had small animals. No. Do you park outside or live near open land or fields? No. Weeeeelllllllll, the problem is that the wiring harness for you knock sensor has been... well, chewed through. What?!?! There was a long story about how rodents (mice, rats) like to crawl into warm engines to sleep, especially in the winter. While in the warm engine compartment, the mouse apparently cannot just sleep. There must be gnawing... on wiring harnesses. It turns out that the casing for the wiring harness is made of soy. Nice, just give the mouse something good to eat. Smart. (Here, mousey, mousey, mousey! Please.) Anyway, that stinkin' mouse cost me $800. That's $100 for the wiring harness (old one shown below) and $700 in labor. The joy! Luckily the dealer didn't charge me for the loaner car, which technically became a rental as it wasn't a warranty issue.

I've since made my garage a less desirable place to live. I've put the bags of bird seed into a container with a lid. I've cleaned up the bag of mulch with the mouse hole in it. I've set traps and put out sticky mouse trays and mouse poison. I have not caught any mice. But I also haven't seen any evidence that the sorry rodent is still living rent free in the garage. I hope he's gone. But I'd rather have had evidence of his death! I know, call PETA, I'll turn myself in.

The dealer took this picture for me. I have the actually part in an envelope.

Homes

2007-01-06T23:28:00.000-06:00

On our visit to San Antonio this Christmas, Mom and Dad and I drove around a bit near Trinity University. At one time my parents rented the second floor of a two story house there. It was their first home together. And my Oma, my Dad's mom, lived down the street in a small house. My other grandma, Nanny, lived in San Antonio too. We spent many a fun week or weekend in San Antonio going between the grandmas houses. They were 71 (Nanny) and 72 (Oma) when I was born and lived to be 89 and 95. I was blessed to have them!

My Oma's house. When she lived there, it was all white and had no carport.

My Nanny's house also had no carport when she lived there.

My parents' first home together was the top floor of this duplex.

Christmas 2006

2007-01-05T23:29:00.000-06:00

This year we had a very quiet family holiday. My parents came to my house and stayed from Friday to Wednesday. Our time together was filled with eating, working, visiting and sleeping.

Mom and Dad asleep by 8:30 pm after a hard day!

Dad, of course, worked in my yard and around the house as much as he could. It's his passion and I think he prefers to do it alone... most visits we both work in the yard several days, but this year he just did a bit of clearing in my back yard and we put out mulch together in the front yard. Don't get me wrong, he works circles around me all the time, but this year even more so because I spent time with Mom, either around the house (watching her favorites on DVR - Reba, Everybody Loves Raymond and Frasier) or running around getting last minute things done for the holiday.

We had a quiet gift opening at my house Saturday night and then Sunday morning we headed for San Antonio to see my extended family. My uncle went to lunch with us at, you guessed it, Luby's (just like last year)... but my aunt was in the hospital for a colonoscopy, so we visited her afterward. She got out just after that and seems to be doing a bit better. I am worried about them both, though, and hope to be a better niece in 2007.

As you can see, the weather was worse and this is just a picture of the Luby's sign and a random Mexican restaurant we didn't visit.

I also hope to be a better daughter in 2007 too.

Dad and Mom, Christmas Eve 2006.

Equal time

2007-01-04T23:35:00.000-06:00

I have bragged and posted pictures of my friends' dogs before.

First there was a visit from Blondie.

Soon there were visits from Dexter. (His picture is at the end of the entry.)

And after that a visit from Bauer.

Now when Blondie comes to visit, she brings her owner (my friend from college) and her step sister, Paisley.

Introducing Paisley!

Blondie and Paisley slept over.

The pressure is getting to me... (or more Australia pictures)

2007-01-03T23:59:00.000-06:00

See, I started this blog for fun. It is supposed to be a place to catalog thoughts and share pictures. I really like blogging. I DO NOT like struggling to figure out a subject about which to write. It's clear that I am not a "writer." Some days I click through a list of blogs and read amazing entries. Entries written by real writers. These are folks who get paid to write and those who do not. Still and all, they are real writers. I am not!

But I can take a good picture now and then... And I would post one or two, but Blogger (no longer called Blogger beta) won't let me post pictures!!! Again. I'll keep trying, but this isn't doing much for my momentum.

Update: I can upload pictures through IE, but not Mozilla Firefox. Therefore, here are some more pictures of my trip to Australia in 2003. Cairns was my first stop in Australia, and I arrived just in time to lay awake for hours before "waking up" early to go up in the hot air balloon I mentioned in an earlier post.

The view from my hotel in Cairns, Queensland.

The Cairns Yacht Club.

Have you ever...?

2007-01-02T21:42:00.000-06:00

Have you ever wasted a few hours watching bad TV? I have. I might have done that tonight. Stupid Lifetime Original Movies.

Have you ever hit a deer? Or rather, has a deer hit your car? It could happen; it happened to me in December. I saw the deer (plural), stopped, waited for them to head toward the tree line... Then I started driving again, very slowly, and the stinkin' deer turned around and jumped right into my car's passenger side fender. He did a movie stunt type maneuver, slid over the hood, onto the windshield and off the other fender. At the end of the day his hooves and antlers scratched the two fenders, the hood, the windshield, the bit between the windshield and the sunroof and the driver side windshield wiper. $2600. Over-achieving deer. The folks at Allstate didn't even blink. Neither did the folks at the body shop. They had given an estimate to a guy earlier in the day who'd run over a DEAD feral hog. Imagine calling the insurance company to say you'd hit dead hog. "I swear that it looked like a speed bump? Really!"

A deer made this dent on my front fender. Yes that's cracked paint too!

Giving it another go...

2007-01-01T00:13:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure if anyone checks my blog anymore. I mean, if you were checking, then you gave up months ago, right?

Let's see if I can do a better job in 2007! I plan to post more frequently and use more photos. Here's hoping I keep this resolution (along with several others to be discussed at a later date).

I made another long weekend trip to New York City in December. I had a great time visiting a friend and seeing some shows. I recommend both The Radio City Christmas Spectacular and Jersey Boys.

Backstage at Radio City Music Hall with my friend Beth.

I took the Staton Island Ferry (free!) to get some pictures of the Statue of Liberty. After taking a few (or 100) pictures, I had to take a moment and enjoy the view.

Sunday, December 11, 2006

Random thoughts...

2006-09-06T00:18:00.000-05:00

My favorite new snack food: Snyder's Honey Wheat Sticks.

Iced tea is best in a clear glass.

Fountain drinks should have pebble ice (like Sonic), a lid, a straw, and a Styrofoam cup.

September is always better than August (in Texas).

Virtually all hotels are overpriced.

It's time for the Astros to make their run at the wild card spot.

I prefer men to wear collared shirts when playing tennis or golf.

Crossword clues should indicate if the answer is more than one word.

**I tried this as a numbered list, but didn't like it.

I've done it again!

2006-09-05T01:28:00.000-05:00

I've spent quite a while tonight messing with my blog template. I don't have much to show for it except some new colors for some of the text and a picture in my profile.

I'm now trying to figure out how to put a photo of some kind into my header. No luck as yet. Perhaps I'll begin to read about HTML in my spare time. Ha!

LET ME JUST SAY THIS, "GIG 'EM!!!"

True colors

Arkansas

2006-09-02T14:58:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I drove to Arkansas for a friend's wedding. Who knew Arkansas was so beautiful? I was there in college, but clearly I didn't appreciate it! It sure doesn't hurt that with the rain, everything was very, very green.

The wedding was in Norfork, just south of Mountain Home. Mountain Home is approximately 15 miles south of the Missouri border in the very middle of Arkansas.

Here are some pictures to chronicle the small bit of sight seeing we did.

The Rainbow Arch Bridge and the White River in Cotter, Arkansas
(Notice the fly fishers?)

Looking the length of the bridge

Steam hovers over the water in the morning

The road above Norfork Dam in Norfork, Arkansas

I am SO grown up!

2006-08-21T00:38:00.000-05:00

I mentioned that I'm officially a grown up in an earlier post. Age and habits make it so.

So I've done something else that only a grown up would do. I increased my contribution to my 401k. I also re-allocated the money already in it. I analyzed, researched, rubbed my forehead, and squinted. Recently our 401k administrators added more funds from which to choose, so this was no small task. I'm feeling good - and stupid. I should have stayed on top of this all along.

I will not be lazy. Grown ups aren't lazy.

Here's a few Outback pictures from my trip to Australia in September 2003. I was absolutely NOT lazy on this day. I bet we hiked 10 miles. And then I slept in a big tent on a cot!

Then again, I do feel pretty grown up for taking a trip to Australia on my own! I'll post more pictures if you guys care to see them!

Good reads (blogs not books)

2006-08-10T23:41:00.000-05:00

Recently, through much clicking and following of links, I've found two blogs that intrigue me. Each is the kind of blog that makes me want to sit and start reading from the beginning! I don't have that much time, so I've decided to read a few entries every time I visit... Someday I'll catch up! I'll make a link to the first ever post in each blog.

barista brat
i'm the original barista brat. come find me at your local bux!

Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds
Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds is a social satire about life in South Florida, from the perspective of a witty and often abused country club employee, who must deal on a daily basis with the exploits of the tasteless, demanding, tacky and unreasonable Rich White People for whom she works. Calling herself Subservient Worker, the author of this blog anonymously recounts the outrageous, fictionalized incidents which occur regularly at her job as an administrative assistant in the Home Owner’s Association of one of the largest and most exclusive golf and tennis communities in Basura, Florida, while also offering a sane and balanced contrast to the lifestyle of her employers. Any similarities between events, locations or individuals mentioned in this blog and actual events, locations or individuals are purely coincidental, unintended and not the responsibility of Subservient Worker. All material contained on this blog is the copyrighted, original material of its author, so don't steal or I'll turn off your barcode.

Bloggers block!

2006-08-10T01:28:00.000-05:00

Somewhere in my last two or three posts I promised that I was back to blogging. Clearly I lied.

At least one friend, Shelley, has implied that she finds it annoying when she daily clicks on another's blog to read the new post and finds instead an OLD post. I'm not sure, but I think she might have been talking to me. Check out her blog and read about her recent travels to Fiji and Mexico. Be jealous, I am!

Anyway, today I decided I CAN DO BETTER. (That's me yelling at myself.) Plus, I got a little bit of a big head to see that my blogging friend, Bre, has my blog in her sidebar links. She lists blogs that are "fun and fabulous." I'm honored and a little intimidated by the pressure to be "fun and fabulous." Wish me luck.

I'm about to hit up Bre to help me put a picture in my title box. She has a cool artistic rendering of shoes (one of her passions) in her title box now! Another fabulous blogging friend, Heather, has a whole new look on her blog - including two color boxed columns and a picture (or is it two) in the title area.

Maybe I'll just hire someone? Andreia recommended Susie at Bluebird Blogs for a little color and redesign. Take a look at Susie's site for cool examples of her work. I hope she'll help me copy one design she already did.

I took some pictures on a recent drive around Austin.

Texas Capitol Building, Austin, TX

Entrance to the Texas State Cemetery
The inside is prettier.

Another visitor

2006-08-09T21:48:00.000-05:00

I'm late in posting this!

It seems my place is now a pet friendly bed and breakfast. (It could be argued that "breakfast" shouldn't be in the name.) Seriously, give me a call if you need a place to crash!

Courtney and her puppy (!) came to stay with me a week or so ago. Check out this handsome German shepherd.

Meet Bauer!

Those are 15 inch tiles, folks!

Jealousy

2006-07-21T01:27:00.000-05:00

A good Aunt must brag on all of her friends' dogs! And this Aunt must post pictures.

One of my other good friends has a dog named Blondie. Blondie was rescued and trained for agility competitions. She's a very fun and friendly puppy. I call her a puppy but I bet she's two years old already.

Blondie has been to my house at least three times. I'm told Blondie is so excited to see me that she starts to whimper (with glee, not trepidation) when the car reaches the entrance to my neighborhood. She gets more and more excited in the two mile trip in to my part of the neighborhood. I told my dad this story, but he doesn't believe it. Perhaps I'll ask for a video recording of it or at least an audio one. I mean, really, who wouldn't get a boost from knowing that a dog was happy to be visiting?

Please see Blondie, Queen of New Braunfels, TX.

For the record!!

2006-07-20T10:37:00.000-05:00

First of all, thanks to each of you who left a comment on my last entry. I fear that I misled you into thinking that July 13th was my birthday... It's really in April (hence the trip to Mexico). I wanted to set the record straight for the those that years from now review this blog diary of my _exciting_ life! That said, the rest is true, I do drink coffee, therefore I am a grown up.

No one asked me a question. Perhaps no one thinks coffee drinking and being 35 mean that I am wise. WRONG!

Things I've learned since I've been a grown-up:

It might not be a good plan to drink hot coffee (liberal use of the term coffee) and sit outside when it is 95 degrees outside at 9 pm.
It turns out getting coffee in a fancy coffee store is not like getting a 1/3 or a 1/2 cup of coffee at home and then filling the mug with sweetened flavored creamer and Equal sweetener. At the store you might need two cups for all the special mixing.
Seriously, I might just be a social coffee drinker. Real coffee early in the morning, even with lots of goo in it, makes my stomach upset. Late at night or after breakfast or a meal, then we're all good.

I've learned more than this in the last few month, but this is all I'm blogging about!

For my picture today, I'll use one I took of the puppy, Dexter, that came to stay at my house this weekend. Cute, right? He's not mine, I had to give him back to his owner on Sunday.

News Flash

2006-07-13T00:40:00.000-05:00

So... I turned 35. I'm grown up. Seriously, I am; if for no other reason than my age.

But the reason I blog today is to tell you that IT IS OFFICIAL. I drink coffee now. So I'm a grown up.

(Thing number 88 on my 101 Things is now false.)

I should point out that I'd rather you just wave the coffee over my cup full of cream and sweetener, but still, I drink coffee.

Ask me something. I'm a grown up. I'm wise. Probably I'll know the answer.

Found this on the web, it looks a bit dark for me. Might taste like coffee.

It should work now!

2006-07-10T13:44:00.000-05:00

My astute coworker (we are working hard!) pointed out that the blog appearance problem might be associated with the browser used. Sure enough, I was using Firefox which did not have the display problem. However, Internet Explorer users did have the problem.

I messed with a setting on the template that controls how many posts are shown at a time in the window... reducing that number fixed the problem in IE. More importantly, it also did not screw up the appearance of my blog in Firefox.

Excellent.

Gratuitous picture that I took this weekend of a rose in Tyler, Texas. More to come.

I'm back, I promise, but first...

2006-07-10T10:20:00.000-05:00

I know you wanted an interesting post about my life or maybe a mediocre post, but with pictures... Well, first, may I ask you to weigh in on this subject by commenting on this entry? You can answer even if you aren't a Blogspot member, so please comment to let me know...

I promise that Wednesday I'll post something better; possibly even something witty and with photos.

Okay here's the question:
When you view my blog on your computer or laptop, do you see the links on the right hand side column next to the latest (greatest) post? Or does that column appear to be way down the page almost like it's letting you see the whole posting column before the column with the little "About Me", "Cluster Map", "ClockLink", "101 Things", "Blogging Friends", "Random Blogs I Read", "Previous Posts", and "Archives" links?

That's more than one question, I know, but it's just the one subject.

I ask because on my computer is looks just fine, like the template; two columns side by side. But at least two friends have said that it has always looked as I described it above.

SO, I wondering did I delete part of the template that makes it smart enough to size the columns for any computer resolution??? Or what??? I don't want to start over, so if anyone knows how to fix it please let me know!

Thanks!

Monday is for links

2006-06-06T00:20:00.000-05:00

I almost posted on Monday! Forgive me?

I was inspired by Heather at Yummy Sushi Pajamas. Each Monday she posts links to some of her favorite blogs. She has been nice enough to visit my blog, comment AND put me on her Monday link list.

Here is my first Monday link list. Please visit them if you have time and post a comment if you feel inclined.

Yummy Sushi Pajamas
This Fish Needs A Bicycle
Win or lose, we go shopping
- plain simple english
Greek Tragedy
Benjamin Wagner Dot Com

The reason I'm not posting

2006-06-04T21:55:00.000-05:00

I'm not posting regularly because I have an addiction. It's an addiction to read/check something like 20 blogs per day, right? I read all these interesting blog entries and am left with the thought that I'm not very good at blogging. Or I think, "I should have blogged about that!" But if I do it now, it's virtually plagiarism. Illegal. Wrong. Bad.

So, I'll try to be more prolific in my posting. Tomorrow I plan to post links to some of the blogs I like to read.

The chair in which I read blogs.

I'm a new fan

2006-06-04T19:40:00.000-05:00

I had some great friends in town Memorial Day weekend. We had a blast. They are huge Mavericks fans (as I'm sure you can tell if you checked out the link). So... We watched the two weekend games at my house. I was hooked. They knew about the players and their track records and strengths. It was fun to watch the games with them.

I haven't paid much attention to NBA ball since my hometown team, the Rockets, won two championships in a row (in '94 and '95). Now those were good times! I kept up with the NBA for a few more years, but was frankly more interested in college sports.

I'm not saying I'm not a Rockets fan at heart. What I'm saying is I want the Dallas Mavericks to win the NBA Finals this year. And I want to watch all the games! If you're a Mavs fan, you want me to watch too, because they won both games I watched last weekend. And last night, I listened to the first half of the game while I worked outside in the backyard. At halftime I came in to watch the rest of the game. Not long after I started watching the Mavericks came to life, coming back from behind to dominate the second half and win the series!

Many thanks

2006-05-31T13:13:00.000-05:00

Many thanks to Heather at Yummy Sushi Pajamas for the mention of my blog on her blog. She puts of up a list of blogs she's reading every Monday. I think this is a great idea. I plan to do it this coming Monday! In the meantime check out her blog and the others she likes.

Thing Number 9

2006-05-26T15:38:00.000-05:00

Number 9 on my 101 Things is "I want to own a hot air balloon someday."

A friend said that MSN's This Week in Pictures May 18-25 had a great shot of hot air balloons. I went to look. WOW! Take a look at picture 2. Now you see why I'm fascinated?

I've been on two balloon flights. One was while I was in college and it was a small balloon with a small basket, holding maybe 4 people maximum. When I visited Australia in 2003, I was in a bigger balloon with a bigger basket. Must have been 9 people and the pilot, but it could have held more.

Of course there are pictures!

My first trip with the AARP!

How about that view?

Notice our reflection in the water?

Packing up and looking into the balloon.

It was a big balloon!

Stylin'

2006-05-23T17:41:00.000-05:00

Do you like my new map and the clock? If they are not directly to the right of this post, then scroll down to the end of the page and they should be on the bottom right hand side.

What other cool things should I add to my blog???

Should I post more or less pictures?

Should I write more about my life?

You tell me!

Eating!

2006-05-21T23:12:00.000-05:00

I love to eat.

I noticed that I took pictures of almost every place we ate while in Mexico last month. Each restaurant served "salsa" and chips. The salsa was excellent, but it was more like pico de gallo.

Sadly I didn't get a picture at one of my favorite places, the Turtle Bay Cafe in Akumal. I don't think they served chips and salsa.

For fun, I think I'll use a ranking system for the salsa, using a scale of 1 to 5 stars, 5 being the best. Read the picture captions for ratings and see the footnote for a disclaimer.

At Mama's Cafe in Puerto Morales, we ate breakfast tacos with salsa.
Salsa rating: ***

The Mango Cafe, in Akumal, where we had smoothies and breakfast tacos.
Salsa rating: ***

Nearest our hotel, the La Buena Vida had good food,
really good salsa and beverages to go.
Salsa rating: ****

Oscar y Lalo's, between Akumal and Tulum, was on this beautiful bay.
Salsa rating: *****

Que Onda means "This Wave" (I think) and served
interesting Italian food on a beautiful patio.
Salsa rating: NA

McDonald's in Playa del Carmen provided a Diet Coke
(with ice and a straw) and a mediocre breakfast taco.
Salsa rating: NA

Disclaimer: Salsa ratings are solely the opinion of the writer and may not be shared by her traveling companions.

Dirt and Shoes

2006-05-16T23:11:00.000-05:00

I like these shoes, they protect my toes, they're rugged and they were a good deal. (They are not real Keen sandals, but rather Sports Authority's own brand.)

After a day of climbing of exploring Mayan ruin sites in Mexico, though, I thought maybe socks and running shoes (without HOLES) would have been better.

Shoes...

No shoes!

The difference is so obvious, right? By the way, I would learn later that some of that was sunburn, not dirt. Sweet!

Mayan Ruins

2006-05-16T21:41:00.000-05:00

While in Mexico I visited two ruin sites: Tulum and Coba.

Tulum is on the coast, in fact you've probably seen it in pictures. It's really gorgeous and unique because it virtually hangs on a cliff.

Coba is inland and surrounded by more greenery and vegetation. There is a 13 story ruin here that we were allowed to climb.

We did not hire a guide at either site, therefore I'm not qualified to tell you much about the pictures below. You'll want to rely on the links for further information.

Tulum from afar. I wish the beautiful colors of the water were more evident.

I really like the combination of colors in this picture, taken at the Tulum site.

A handy sign that we actually saw after the fact at Coba!

The tallest of the Coba ruins - or the Big Pyramid (see above).
I climbed all 13 stories. If you don't believe that, ask my knees!

Too late we noticed that there had been iguanas
sunning themselves all over the Tulum ruins.

More Mexico Pictures

2006-05-13T23:45:00.000-05:00

I got one comment asking for more pictures. I can do that! More comments, more pictures!!! Come on now, read my rarely updated blog!

Speaking of pictures... Would anyone care to comment upon which online photo hosting service is best? I recently read that only a few services guarantee to keep your photos online forever (and therefore safely backed up). I read the article, but now I can't remember which services it recommended. Maybe I'll look into it and blog about it in future.

Sunrise from the condo terrace.

The rare, but lovely, chicken tree.

I like to take pictures of boats.

And boats near jetties.

Something's fishy...

2006-05-12T01:24:00.000-05:00

For the record:
I started with 323 pictures and I've whittled it down to 251. I think I could reduce it by a few more if I really tried.

Here are a few snorkeling pictures. Click on each separately for the best view.

One fish...

Two fish...

WAIT, NO RED FISH??

BLUE fish!

School's out for summer!

Camera shy?

Guess how many?

2006-04-26T16:26:00.000-05:00

If you guess how many photos I took, I'll give you a mention in my blog as an awesome guesser... No answers from Stacey or Leslie will count.

Be within 10 of the correct answer and you might even get a prize, like a framed photo of me! :)

There are two numbers... The number of pictures that were on my camera when I came home and the number that were left after I deleted the bad ones. Guess either or both.

FYI-I have an underwater camera housing for my camera, so include those pictures in your count. And for the record I arrived on Tuesday midday and left on Sunday midday.

I'm back!

2006-04-25T22:04:00.000-05:00

I've been feeling guilty about not posting lately. I've checked my blogging friends and it seems I'm not the only blog slacker.

I've been in Mexico! I spent my 35th birthday in a little town called Akumal, about 60 miles south of Cancun. The condo was great, the rent car was great (always get the insurance!), and the company even better (my college buddies Stacey and Leslie).

I'll write more when my mind gets back from this beautiful place. Our condo is in the second picture below, the short white one, approximately centered in the photo.

Thing Number 47

2006-04-02T21:24:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in my 101 things that I procrastinate. It waited to put that down as number 47 out of 101. Would it have been funnier if I had put it down as number 101?

Along those lines, let me tell you a story. Today I finally washed a pair of shoes that got dirty back in late September, when I went to the Austin City Limits Music Festival. It was SO hot and windy and dusty. Really hot and windy and dusty. Like ruin your clothes with red dirt and sweat hot. I don't have a picture of the dirty shoes, but I do have pictures to show the dust bowl that was day 2 of the festival.

The above picture is day 1, just before Lucinda Williams performs.

To truly appreciate this picture, click on it to view it in bigger form.
Sunset, day 2. Or rather "the day of dust."

Fellow Ag, Lyle Lovett, performing live on the evening of day 1.

Yard Work

2006-04-01T20:29:00.000-06:00

Today I spent time outside working on the yard. The weather was fabulous.

I trimmed the hedges in the front yard and fertilized the whole yard.

To demonstrate how quickly the hedges can get out of hand, I took two pictures before I trimmed the final hedge... I'll include them both so that you can see how bad the one is and how great the others look as a result of my handiwork.

If you're lucky, and you encourage me by leaving comments, I MIGHT post pictures of my super green lawn next week.

Aggie Link

2006-03-30T00:24:00.000-06:00

I haven't seen this commercial on TV, but my coworker said he saw it during some of the NCAA tournament. It's an ESPN commercial for their ESPNU package, apparently a package of college sports.

It's hysterical!

Aggie Commercial

My 101 Things Might Stink

2006-03-29T09:27:00.000-06:00

I just read a good list of 100 things on another's blog. It was interesting. Mine is not. Since no one has commented yet, maybe I'll edit mine...

101 Things

2006-03-26T22:02:00.000-06:00

There WAS a time when it was cool to list 101 things about yourself on your blog. Leave it to me to be a bit behind the times. This could be fun for the one person who stumbles on my blog that doesn't' t know me well. I think that all my friends know the things in this list.

Post a comment to let me know what you think. Did you know all the facts? :)

I was born in Houston, Texas.
I have lived only lived in Texas cities: Austin, College Station and Houston.
I am an only child.
My parents were both in their forties when I was born.
I am thankful that I still have them.
I think it would be fun to live in NYC for at least a year.
I love to travel.
I love to fly (as a passenger).
I want to own a hot air balloon someday.
I love college football.
I do not like NFL football.
I cannot dance well to rock music.
I can two-step.
I cannot sing.
I would love to be able to sing.
I have a degree in electrical engineering.
I graduated from Texas A&M University.
I am a sales engineer.
I think Lyle Lovett is sexy.
I have seen him in concert at least 7 times.
I am never too full for ice cream!
I love to go out to eat breakfast.
I love toast with real butter.
I have never been skinny dipping.
I cannot live without my Palm phone.
I was never a Girl Scout. (There is a story here.)
I like camping.
I like hiking.
I have never broken a bone. (This might be a lie now, I'll tell you for sure later this week.)
I never had a dog or a cat.
I did have a few fish.
I must have a carbonated beverage with pizza and burgers.
I did not watch Seinfeld in prime time.
I spent a month in the Philippines.
I have totaled a car.
I hate the game 42.
I love to play spades.
I play Golden Tee.
I traveled to Australia on my own.
I love to snorkel.
I do not scuba dive.
I would like to visit all 50 states.
I have visited 21 states.
I love watches.
Once my Dad and I caught 93 fish in one hour.
I have too many pairs of shoes.
I procrastinate.
My DVR has changed my life.
I have been on a jury.
My cell phone rang while I was in the jury box.
I love to go to movies.
I believe in heaven.
I believe Jesus died to save me from my sin.
I love to ride my road bike.
I rode 105 miles on it in a day - twice.
I never met either of my grandfathers, they died before I was born.
I don't mind yard work.
I hate to clean house.
I think Sudoku puzzles are fun.
I have a lazy eye.
I used to wear an eye patch.
I have had eye surgery two times.
I do not throw like a girl.
I can throw a good spiral.
I love to play football catch, frisbee catch, or softball catch.
I played soccer at the YMCA on an all boys team.
I love to read fiction.
I listen to audio books in the car.
I can install a ceiling fan.
I prefer 2%, but drink 1% milk.
I used to have reflux.
I have no cavities.
I played saxophone in high school band.
I have been snow skiing one time.
Sometimes I have number dyslexia.
I like fresh lemon in my Diet Coke.
I prefer fresh lime in my iced tea.
I like to drink water from a bottle not a glass.
I don't mind doing laundry, but I do not like to fold and put away clothes.
I like to wash dishes, but do not like to unload the washer.
I broke my VCR the other day.
I have a backup VCR.
I have been known to cry at medical shows, Hallmark movies and Extreme Home Makeover.
I enjoy cooking on my grill.
I am clearly struggling to find interesting things for this list.
I once owned a car for just seven months.
Because of that I technically owned three different cars in one year.
I do not like coffee.
I love to listen to music.
I like some radio talk shows.
I love to go to the library.
I belong to two libraries.
I have developed a love for reading blogs.
There are about 5 blogs that I check daily.
I like scented candles.
A lawn mower will fit in the trunk of my car.
I like reality shows. I know, but I do.
I wear my college (Texas A&M) ring all the time, even in the shower.
I like to listen to radio talk shows on a solo road trip.
I almost never remember a bathing suit when my hotel has an indoor pool!
I have thick hair.

Can you tell I was reaching at the end? And that I'm in a hotel room in Houston for work?

Let me know what you think. And go ahead, post 101 things about yourself on your blog!

Logic

2006-03-25T22:03:00.000-06:00

I just want to go on record to say that I'm pulling for LSU. Who cares about my bracket? I'm out of it anyway because, being a good Ag, I picked A&M to win out.

I like the way my friend Joe Hays' brain works. He had a great blog regarding sporting logic on Thursday, March 23rd. Here's a quote:

5th Grade Logic
Duke got beat tonight. LSU stung the Blue Devils with an eight point win. So, and this is where the 5th grade sporting logic comes into play, if LSU beat Duke by eight and the Aggies lost to LSU by one, then the Aggies would beat Duke by seven. Cool, huh? I'm a huge Duke fan but A&M is where my heart is, so it's kinda cool to say that my Aggies would beat Duke by seven...according to my fifth grade logic.

If we continue with his logic: since LSU beat UT by 10 points and the Ags lost to LSU by just one point, then in our fantasy world, the Ags would beat Texas by 9 points.

A girl can dream, right?

Mission Impossible

2006-03-25T21:53:00.000-06:00

So, I bought several new pairs of pants this week. I needed them. I've donated or thrown the old ones away (depending on condition).

I have tops to wear with each pair of pants, however I could use a cream colored top to give me more options. I'm looking for a simple short sleeved V neck or crew neck cream/tan/off-white sweater...

Apparently there is no such thing. I have been to Dillard's, Foley's, JC Penney, Steinmart, Kohl's, TJ Maxx, Target, Academy (there was one here but it was sized for a junior!). I don't even know where to look next.

I can, however, tell you where to find cream colored t-shirts, completely see through cream colored polyester shirts, cream colored shirts with beads (or for that matter, sequins), see through loose knit cream colored sweaters, cream colored long sleeve sweaters, cream colored sweaters with bands that accentuate the wrong thing on me, and cream colored sweaters with gathers in the area that need not be accentuated.

Let me know if you need help finding a sweater. I'll take out all the guess work!

Help!

2006-03-21T14:03:00.000-06:00

I took this picture in NYC in July of 2004. I made the trip with my mom for her 76th birthday. One day we took the subway down to Battery Park and I think these buildings are located near there. I'm hoping that someone can help me figure out the names of the two buildings? I thought I knew where they were, but I can't figure it out now. I've looked on Google Maps and Google Earth. (If you haven't tried this, do so and type in a big city name; you can see the skyline and building outlines in either real photo form or opaque form.)

Come to think of it this could be down by the World Trade Center site. We also went to see that area on the same day... More playing with Google Maps and Google Earth!

It was also on this trip that Mom and I acted like giddy girls waiting for Hugh Jackman outside the stage door of The Boy from Oz. We had just him in the role for which he won a Tony. He is very pretty up close. My mom told him it was her birthday and he wished her a happy birthday (from about an arm's length). I think she was hoping for a kiss! Here's a picture of him just before he comes over to us...

Sadness, Despair!

2006-03-19T00:08:00.000-06:00

Need I say more? My Aggie men lost to LSU by 1 point in a very well played game.

It hurts.

If there's anything good to take away from this, it's that we played two great games on national television!

And how about Coach Gillispie? He has done great things with the team on and off the court. I was proud of how he and the players responded to questions during the tournament. As far as I know they all acted like gentlemen. They are winners in my book.

How about that? I knew it!

2006-03-17T01:12:00.000-06:00


	1	2	Total

(12) Texas A&M	33	33	66	Final

(5) Syracuse	24	34	58

I knew we could win. The Aggie men beat Syracuse tonight. It's possible that I will not have a voice tomorrow... and I watched alone at home. I was having trouble typing IMs to my friend online because I kept getting up and jumping around and helping the men play.

Sweet!

Game on!

Before and After

2006-03-15T22:02:00.000-06:00

Quite a few posts back, I inserted a picture of my bedside lamp after a fire. I never explained what happened though. To save you some scrolling, here is the picture again.

The lamp/bulb had been flickering on and off for a while, but tightening the bulb usually did the trick. I headed to bed one night at 3 am. I had fallen asleep in my chair in the living room. So when I headed into the bedroom, I switched on the lamp by my bed for light. The bulb came on and then went out, but _mysteriously_ there was still light. Well, see, flames were shooting out of the on/off switch!! They were tall enough, clearly, to almost reach the top of the bulb and therefore were very near the shade... I grabbed the lamp, unplugged it and blew the flames out on the way to the bathroom. Imagine what might have happened had I fallen asleep in bed with that lamp on... Thank God (literally) that it happened when I was able to put it out.

I replaced the lamp a few weeks ago with the one you see below. It was on sale (always a good thing) and the finish matches that of my ceiling fan (which I installed shortly after I moved into the house). This particular lamp was labeled as safe for use with a 3 way bulb... Hmm, I was using a 3 way bulb in the other lamp; however, that lamp had no such label. Then again, it was hard to read the labels after the fire.

My Aggies!

2006-03-15T15:24:00.000-06:00

Both of the Aggie basketball teams made it to the NCAA tournament. Can you all say WHOOP!?

Check out the video on of the men receiving the news they'd been invited. And the ladies have a video too.

I'm going to do my bracket picks tonight... I don't think I'll be very good at it, but it's fun.

How can I not pick the Ags to win out? Really, can an Ag do anything but have that kind of faith?

Bring it on!

What, no picture?

2006-02-20T01:13:00.000-06:00

A picture of two dead vices. There are actually three dead watches, but the third didn't make the picture.

Upon consideration, I think my father might have helped and encouraged my love of watches. He gave me the one on the left - my first Sunday dress watch. He also gave me a Big Bird watch, which I still have. It works, but needs a band. And he gave me a beautiful Seiko watch with the A&M seal for my graduation. That one is, ahem, 12 years old. 12. Whoop!

Vices... (alternate title: Gadget Girl)

2006-02-20T00:43:00.000-06:00

My friends know I'm into gadgets. I love them. I occasionally buy new gadgets. Sometimes I avoid buying new gadgets. I justify purchases by giving away old gadgets or by saying I only have a few vices...

I was using IM the other day to chat with a friend. I told her of a recent gadget purchase (and the excellent rebate(s)). She called me "gadget girl." I said, "Proudly. I have so few other vices." She began to list them: watches, bags... I added one: hats. I love hats. For the record I went a whole year without buying a hat. A self-imposed hat fast. I'm currently on a self-imposed watch fast. I think I have two more years to go.

I will leave you with this question. Can a REAL "gadget girl" break her VCR? I might have broken mine. A tape is stuck in it. I can't get it out. I needed to record a third show the other day, because my DVR can only record two things at once. I guess it wasn't important, because now I can't remember what the third show was...

Is a DVR a gadget?

Do you mean that as a compliment?

2006-02-01T15:23:00.000-06:00

When flames shoot out of the switch on your lamp, it could look like this!

I haven't written in a while. I've been busy, but not with things that are bloggable. (Is that a word?)

Something happened to me on Sunday that struck me as funny and reminded me of two other similar events. I will relate them to you in the order in which they occurred, leaving the most recent for last.

1. Long, long ago, when I lived in NW Houston I was in the local Gerland's grocery store at about 1 o'clock in the morning. There was a man in line behind me who appeared to be either drunk or just very disheveled. He mumbled something to me as I was leaving. I asked him to repeat it because I couldn't understand him. He said, more clearly, "You're pretty, but I just woke up." He pronounced pretty as "preeettty" using a voice like Dudley Moore in the movie Arthur when he says, "It doesn't suck!" (to be rich). A compliment? You decide.

2. Quite a while ago, I was visiting friends (the Lowders) and their new baby at a hospital in Houston. I'm in the elevator with a middle aged woman. She doesn't say anything for a while, then looks at me and says, "Have you ever thought about wearing contacts?" No elaboration, no explanation of her thought process. I said I had once worn contacts, but they had irritated my eyes and I'd returned to glasses. Surely she meant that I had beautiful eyes and shouldn't hide them with my glasses? Again, you decide.

3. Last Sunday, after church, I was in a nice gas station waiting to go into the ladies' room. A Hispanic man about my age, dressed as if he'd just come from church as well, was waiting to go into the men's room. We smiled a hello and continued to wait. A few minutes passed and he said, "Do your eyes always look like that?" I said, "I'm sorry, what did you say?" He repeated himself. I said, "Do you mean - blue?" (Thinking he probably meant blood shot or with dark circles underneath.) He said, "Yes, blue." Then, "Beautiful, beautiful." Of course I said something like, "Oh, that's nice of you, thank you very much!" I proceeded to giggle when I was finally in the restroom, thinking back to the elevator incident. Compliment? Heck yeah! But still funny to me!

Some of you know that I have sarcastic friends. I mean, I don't know why I attract friends who are sarcastic, do you?? Anyway, most people know the "You're preeettty" story, and a few of them make serious fun of me about it. My friends, the Lowders, are as fun and witty as they come; they had much fun with the "Have you ever thought about wearing glasses?" comment. For years!

Of course the third comment restored my faith in humanity. Ha! Really, it just brought all of this back up and inspired this entry.

Lyle and Bonnie

2006-01-16T20:44:00.000-06:00

Have you seen Crossroads on CMT?

You haven't? You should!

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Great music knows no boundaries. CMT Crossroads shows the far-reaching roots of country music by pairing country artists with musicians from other genres. Each episode will feature a different set of stars playing together, swapping stories and sharing their common love of music.
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I'm excited about an upcoming episode pairing Lyle Lovett and Bonnie Raitt. It airs February 11th at 8 pm CST. Lyle used to open for Bonnie Raitt. They are both excellent musicians, talented songwriters and they share a love for blues and gospel music. I've seen Bonnie live. I've seen Lyle live. I've seen Bonnie and Lyle live. This will be a great show.

To get you in the mood, try to catch the best Crossroads yet: the one pairing Pat Benatar and Martina McBride. Whew, can those ladies sing. A fabulous show! It airs on February 1st at 7pm CST. Also, be sure to check out another excellent episode, pairing Sugarland with Bon Jovi; it airs tomorrow, January 17th at 10 pm CST.

No, I don't work for CMT, nor do I date anyone who does. :)

It's Joyce, not iJoyce or eJoyce

2006-01-13T15:50:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted in a while. Were you all worried about me? All 3-4 of you who occasionally check my blog?

The title above should tell you I've been experimenting with music files and MP3 players... I think I finally have all my music on my iPod. I really like it. I would just like it and iTunes to talk to each other consistently. Is that too much to ask? Is it too much to ask for iTunes and my iPod to get along? Come to think of it, there's no 'i' in team. :) Suffice it to say it all does work, just not like it did the first week, or the second...

Now on to another task. USE THE iPOD FOR WORKING OUT! Wait, I do use it WHEN I workout. So I guess the task is: WORKOUT CONSISTENTLY.

For your reference, I'm listening to two great new CDs: Lifehouse (a gift, thank you!) and Bonnie Raitt.

Priceless!

2006-01-06T14:28:00.000-06:00

I would have put this picture in my last post, had I seen it in time. It's a good explanation of my feelings.

Now I'm all for Vince Young going pro. What better time? Don't gamble on winning the Heisman next year, Vince, go pro!

Oh wait, my maroon blood is coming out again.

More later.

They Did It

2006-01-05T00:38:00.000-06:00

UT wins. What a great game. I enjoyed it all. It was a good match-up. Both teams played to win and acted like gentlemen. UT showed up, turned it on when necessary and got the win. I found myself cheering for them the entire game. I couldn't help it.

I'm still an Aggie, no question, it's just more thrilling than I thought to see a national championship come to the state of Texas.

I found the following on the Austin American Statesman site. Great pictures. I think Vince Young goes pro now. No question.

NEXT YEAR IS THE YEAR OF THE AGGIE. I FEEL IT. ALL THE WAY BABY!

The Big Game

2006-01-04T13:02:00.000-06:00

I'm watching the Rose Bowl tonight with coworkers at a coworker's house. Neither are originally from Texas. I'm sure they will not care for which team I cheer.

Really, I just want it to be a good game. A close match-up with good play and good sportsmanship. If all that happens, then I will be happy no matter which team wins.

This view makes me the outcast around Austin, for sure. To borrow from Kermit the Frog: It's hard being maroon (I mean green). The pictures below might provide some insight.

I cannot help but wonder if the UT fans would pull for the Aggies if we were in their position. What do you think?

Skiing

2006-01-02T23:17:00.000-06:00

I want to go skiing. Soon. It's winter, it shouldn't be 80 degrees. If I was skiing, I'm sure it wouldn't be in 80 degree weather.

Anyone want to go skiing? Maybe a long weekend in early February? Somewhere with bunny slopes and hot chocolate.

I'll think back on my only ski trip, ever, to Brighton, Utah in February 2004.

Cute Boys

2006-01-01T23:32:00.000-06:00

The Park boys are my buddies. Samuel (Spiderman) and I worked a 150 piece puzzle, while Jeremiah (Batman) and I attempted a 24 piece puzzle. Much fun was had by all!

I had plans to exercise today, so that I could say (at least once in my life) that I exercised every day this year. It didn't happen!Does the phrase, "It's the thought that counts" apply in this situation? Please?

I've been working on my list of 101 Things (about myself). I have 72 things so far. There are many more, but I'm trying to make a list of 101 INTERESTING Things. I might go back and edit the aforementioned 72.

I'm posting from a Mac today, courtesy of the Park family. At least I can say I have posted a blog entry every day this year!

Happy New Year

2005-12-31T20:17:00.000-06:00

A short post today to wish you a Happy New Year!

Maroon in College Station!

2005-12-30T23:51:00.000-06:00

I'm in College Station for the weekend. I arrived without my laptop, so I'm posting without the luxury of a HUGE cache of pictures with which to illustrate my post. I know all of you are saddened by this. Right? Right.

The plan is to relax, see the Aggie men's basketball game and hang with good friends. All is going according to plan, except for the fall off the porch. Ask me about it sometime.

And for the record, that was Dennis Quaid, the actor, in the picture with me. I removed it. Wouldn't want his second wife to get jealous. You could just see the chemistry!

Poll Question

2005-12-30T00:55:00.000-06:00

Am I posting too many pictures?

I _KNEW_ that this would happen!

2005-12-29T23:47:00.000-06:00

Short post this time... A few things to prove the title.

Last night I spend WAY too long figuring out things in Blogger.
Tonight I spend quite a while "perfecting" my earlier post.
Offline I am thinking of the 101 Things list (about me) that I plan to post soon.

So I say this: I knew that I would wind up spending way too much time on this.

But I find I like it: learning and sharing. Knowledge is power.

Gratuitous picture:

I took this picture in Washington State on one of the most beautiful days I've ever seen.

I'm editing this post to add a picture of Mount Rainier taken on the same day. Breathtaking.

Luckenbach, Texas and a Birthday

2005-12-29T21:54:00.000-06:00

Today is my father's 81st birthday!

I'd say "Happy Birthday Dad!" but he doesn't own a computer with which to view this post. I thought I’d talk a little about him today, though.

My family and I made the 90 mile drive to Fredericksburg on Monday to visit some family. On the way we stopped in Luckenbach, where my father was born. Yes, my father and his brother REALLY were born in the town made famous by Waylon, Willie and the boys!

It was a beautiful day for a drive, as you can see. Dad wanted to show me the one room schoolhouse again, and mentioned that he started there in 1934. 1934! We also measured the distance from his house to "town"... it turned out to be just over two miles one way. He had always claimed 3-4 miles each way. Ha! He told me some great stories, like the old car they had was often so hard to crank and start that it seemed faster to walk to town. Goodness!

On a side note, my uncle took me to Luckenbach once when I was say 10 years old. At the Luckenbach General Store (pictured in the first link above), I held a bear cub. No lie! I'm not sure why there was bear cub nor am I sure of why they let a 10 year old girl hold it!

Our visit with family was good. Here's a picture for posterity.

Stay tuned in the coming days for more stories from Dad about his time in WWII.

Christmas 2005

2005-12-28T00:40:00.000-06:00

This is a picture of my parents (on the left) and my aunt and uncle. I have a better picture, but it doesn't have the name of the restaurant that means so much to my family (she says sarcastically). Almost every time we meet for lunch, we meet at this Luby's.

Today I read a few entries on another's blog. I noticed two things: there were many entries and they were almost all short and sweet. Each entry was a paragraph about a book, a CD, a purchase or an observation.

So, I decided that if I keep each entry short, I might have a chance to post one per day. Game on!

December in NYC

2005-12-27T23:37:00.000-06:00

Let me start with my Christmas card! Hopefully you got one in the mail. Ask me sometime how Costco printed the cards the first time.

So I spent December 8th, 9th and 10th in New York City. It was a good chance to see my friend Beth and explore all that the city has to offer at the holidays. Beth saved the day by letting me crash on her pull-out couch! I was able to explore Central Park on my first day. There was a little outdoor market with many types of vendors. I bought a homemade ginger snap and a cup of hot cider. I walked around enough to get blisters on my feet! I loved the park with snow on the ground. I have many more pictures to prove it, but here is one of my favorites.

I enjoyed three shows while in town: Sweeney Todd, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and The Color Purple. Seeing Sweeney Todd gave me the chance to see the great Patti LuPone (Tony winner for Evita) on stage!

I had a great hostess in Beth. She showed me bits of the real NYC. She even took me to her friend's Christmas party at his place in Harlem. I had a great time and was sorry to leave.

Up Too Late

2005-12-22T02:33:00.000-06:00

I took this picture on November 3rd, just after the colors began to show themselves here in Austin. I stopped at a customer, got back in my car, opened my sunroof and turned up the radio. I was sitting at the light you see above when I noticed the contrast of colors. I especially love the deep blue of the sky.

This picture means even more to me now that we've had a good hard freeze, making almost everything here a shade of tan or brown.

I hope you and yours have very happy holidays!

Aggies Beat Kansas State

2005-10-23T21:53:00.000-05:00

NOTE: A good friend of mine was kind enough to point out my lack of new entries! I wrote this awhile ago, but I'm just now posting it!

I'm back from a whirlwind trip to Kansas to see the Aggies play K-State. There is a cute little downtown area around K-State called Aggieville.

The game was good. The weather was bad! I just looked up the temperature... The story says it was 53 degrees. With the rain and the periodic gusts of wind, it felt much colder to me. Our seats were just above the Aggie band, so we stood almost the entire game. Overall it was a great experience and we got the win!

My First Post Ever

2005-10-21T23:26:00.000-05:00

This is my first blog entry ever.

This will be a short test to see what my blog looks like.

More later from my INTERESTING life.

(Written in a Manhattan, Kansas hotel room on the eve of the Texas A&M vs Kansas State football game.)